Hating on Facebook

Yesterday one of my favorite bloggers decided that Facebook was finished. Now I don't know enough to agree or disagree, still trying to get my mind around most Web 2.0 and the direction of technology in general. Though this blog brewed in my head all last night, as I tossed and turned I kept thinking about how I would update my status, seriously. The good news with that is that even if Facebook does go down, I still have twitter.


Anyway I wanted to make a few observations I have noticed and go public with a conversation I have had with one very sharp friend who seems to have a clue regarding these things, who doesn't work for Facebook or Microsoft. Let me say first I have lost my affinity for Facebook. I really enjoyed it at first, but there is just a level of involvement that I'm not sure I want. I have already filled out what cities I've been to, what books I'm reading, and rated bunches of movies. How much more is there in life? With that said I will still spend some part of the time I would have watched TV/movie or just read a book for entertainment on Facebook. That is valuable. Really valuable. Time is the only resource I have that I cannot go out and get more of, and Facebook has moved into the realm of things I do. For how long I am not sure. Like Balmer said of Google, "They are one algorimth away from being obsolete." Facebook is one better pony show away from being off my list for things that I spend my time doing.

Another observation I have about Facebook is it made my birthday this year more interested. I was blasted, encouraged, checked in with tons more friends than I would have otherwise and that felt good. The connection part of the experience, that feeling, at the risk of sounding like a Mastercard commericial is priceless. I know that many of these friends, no offense to my next statement, are too lazy to actually send a card or pick up the phone for my birthday, but to give these lazy friends a chance to be in the mix on my birthday is nice. With that said how long can that last?

Remember how great email was when we first starting sending and receiving? All that beautiful blue and white text, I would rush to the computer lab at my university just to see if perhaps I got a note from someone. Anyway at that time AOL did something to capture people, it was three words, "You've got mail." Looking back on it we are so sophisticated it is easy to scorn, but tons of people (not the most tech saavy people) flocked to AOL just to hear "You've got mail". It made them feel good. It has such an impact they made a horrible movie based on those words. Taking two great and talented actors and making a big piece of poop, and we are worried about the writers strike, what a joke. Anyway since I first signed up for Facebook the only way I understood it was by saying it is the new AOL. A Web 2.0 AOL, if you will. There is nothing new, and honestly after being on it for awhile nothing that great. Do I still enjoy it? Yes, but to think that it is worth $10-15 billion dollars and will remain a successful business I doubt.

I don't think Microsoft made a mistake by getting involved with them, besides as long as they are being aggressive I like some mistakes. Yet I think Microsoft in their Web 2.0 venture and desire to dominate advertising on the internet will far exceed what Facebook is currently doing. Some of the changes I'm sensing recently with Microsoft lead me to believe the sleeping giant has been awaken. From a consumer side I love it because I hope to see even more extremely cool and innovative technology being put out there by the amazing people they have.